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Focus on Virat Kohli’s 100th Test as dominant India square off against Sri Lanka

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Till the start of this week, the stands at the IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali were to be silent for the first Test between India and Sri Lanka starting from Friday. But with now 50% crowd being allowed into the stadium, the sounds of cheers and claps from the fans will be heard when Virat Kohli takes the field for his 100th Test, becoming the 12th Indian and 71st cricketer to achieve the landmark.

Friday’s Test against Sri Lanka also marks Kohali’s first appearance in Tests since leaving the captaincy after India lost 2-1 to South Africa in January. Though his returns with the bat (no century since November 2019) have invited concern and criticism in equal measure, there is no questioning that Kohli has been the backbone for India’s batting for a very long time.

Though Kohli had a low-key Test debut in June 2011 against the West Indies in the backdrop of his stunning white-ball game, his desire to succeed and strive hard for excellence in the longest format of the game has resulted in him amassing 7962 runs in 99 matches at an average of 50.39, including seven double centuries. In his landmark Test, Kohli will be entering a new phase of his career: as the senior-most batter in the side with no demands of captaincy and chance to scale much greater peaks with a renewed mindset.

Kohli’s landmark 100th Test also marks the start of Rohit Sharma’s stint as the Test captain of India. The hosts haven’t been on the losing side in home Tests since the 2-1 defeat to England in 2012 and will be hoping to extend their streak against a visiting Sri Lanka side. Apart from keeping the winning juggernaut rolling against Sri Lanka, India will have one eye on gaining some crucial World Test Championship (WTC) points, In the race to the final. India are in fifth place while Sri Lanka are the early topper of the table.

The start of Kohli’s post-captaincy era in Tests also coincides with his successor Rohit Sharma starting his stint. After becoming a proven leader in white-ball matches for India with series wins over New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka apart from five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians, Sharma’s latest challenge is to replicate the success in Test cricket. On the brink of embarking on a new challenge, Sharma was quick in acknowledging Kohli’s contribution as Test captain.

“I am looking forward to just winning games as much as possible and doing the right things with the right players in the squad. That is the whole point. As a Test team, at the moment, we stand in a very good position. If you look at the last five years of our Test cricket, the whole credit goes to Virat himself to get us going in this particular format. What he has done with the Test team over the years was brilliant to see. For me, honestly, I have to just take it forward from where he left. The team stands in a very good position.”

The series against Sri Lanka also marks the absence of Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara in India’s middle-order. With Rahane and Pujara sent to Ranji Trophy for reclaiming form and rhythm, the series presents India an opportunity to the likes of Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari to claim the vacant spots in the middle-order. The trio had shown glimpses of their excellence in Test cricket and would look to show that in this Test too.

Sri Lanka, on the other hand, come into the series against India on the back of a series win against the West Indies at home in 2021. But, after being blanked 3-0 in T20Is, comes the challenge to win a Test in the Indian conditions, which they are yet to achieve. But the motivation of playing in their 300th Test will spur them to do well.

They will be without the services of their star spinners Ramesh Mendis and Maheesh Theekshana. But the form of left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya, number three batter Pathum Nissanka and the skipper Dimuth Karunaratne will keep them in good spirits.

Karunaratne had confirmed that they will have seven batters with one spin and three seam options. Lahiru Thirimanne will open alongside Karunaratne with Nissanka at three and Niroshan Dickwella as the keeper.

Overall, with many entertaining subplots in the offing, expect India and Sri Lanka to play a more absorbing series with Kohli, Sharma and Indian batting order entering their respective new phases.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Saurabh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain).

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (captain), Dhananjaya De Silva, Charith Asalanka, Dushmantha Chameera, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wicket-keeper), Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne and Jeffrey Vandersay.

International

Wagah-Attari border closure leaves several families in limbo

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Islamabad, April 25: Pakistan and India’s decision to shut down the Wagah-Attari border crossing after the deadly Pahalgam terror attack has forced several citizens from both countries to cut short their visit and rush back home.

On Thursday, after both countries announced closure of border crossing and gave a deadline for citizens to leave for their respective countries, at least 28 Pakistanis nationals returned from India while 105 Indian citizens in Pakistan crossed over into India.

A Hindu family from Balochistan’s Sibi was reportedly denied entry into India after the closure of border crossing.

“We were on our way to Indore in Madhya Pradesh to attend a wedding. Seven members of our family were excited to join our relatives in India and take part in the celebrations. But upon reaching Wagah, we learned that the border had been sealed. We will spend the night at Dera Sahib in Lahore and head back home tomorrow,” said Akshay Kumar.

Meanwhile, a Sikh family from India, in Pakistan to attend a wedding, decided to leave for India immediately.

“We had come to Pakistan for a wedding. While the ceremony took place, several important rituals remained. Once we heard the border was closed, we decided to return immediately,” said Raminder Singh, an Indian national.

A Hindu family from Ghotki in Pakistan’s Sindh province, now residing in New Delhi, was visiting Pakistan for the last two months to meet their relatives. However, they are now unsure about getting permission to return to India.

“There are five of us, including my young son and daughter, uncle and aunt. We all hold Pakistani passports and were granted No Obligation to Return to India (NORI) certificate by India. But uncertainty looms now, said a family member named Indira.

“Families with cross-border ties often bear the brunt of rising tensions between the two neighbours. With tensions between Pakistan and India once again on the rise, human connections across borders are becoming the first casualty,” said Asif Memood, a Lahore-based journalist.

“The closure of the Wagah-Attari border has left many families in limbo, uncertain when they will next reunite with their loved ones,” he added.

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Murder of Hindu leader: India slams Bangladesh, says killing follows pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities

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New Delhi, April 19: India on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh, calling it part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of minorities under the country’s interim government.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal voiced India’s grave concern, stating that the incident reflects an alarming trend of targetted violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh.

“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government, even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said in a post on social media platform X.

He added, “We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”

India has previously expressed similar concerns over rising attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, but this latest incident has drawn particular attention due to Roy’s prominence in the Hindu community.

Roy, who served as the Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was abducted from his residence in Dinajpur district on Thursday evening. According to police and family accounts, he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m., after which four unidentified men arrived on motorcycles and forcibly took him to Narabari village. He was reportedly assaulted and later found unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival. His wife, Shantana Roy believes the attackers used the call to confirm his location before carrying out the abduction.

Opposition leaders in India also slammed the shocking incident in the neighbouring country.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge highlighted that religious minorities, especially Hindus, are being persecuted in Bangladesh.

“Attacks on other religious minorities are also continuing. Recently, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations, and the attempt to erase the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relationship between India and Bangladesh. From 1971 till today, India has always wished for peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh. This is in the best interest of the subcontinent,” he said.

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Death toll from US airstrikes on Yemeni fuel port rises to 38: Houthis

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Sanaa, April 18: The death toll from US overnight airstrikes on the Yemeni fuel port of Ras Isa has increased to 38, with 102 others wounded, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported on Friday, citing Houthi-controlled local health authorities.

According to al-Masirah, the casualties include five paramedics who were killed upon arriving at the scene, when the US military launched another wave of airstrikes on the port just minutes after the first on Thursday night.

More than 14 airstrikes on the fuel port were reported during the two waves, igniting massive fires in tanks storing imported fuel. The fires were extinguished within hours, said the report.

The US Central Command said earlier in a statement that it struck and destroyed the Ras Isa port on Thursday to “eliminate this source of fuel for” and “degrade the economic source of power of” the Houthis, Xinhua news agency reported.

In mid-March, US President Donald Trump ordered “decisive and powerful military action” against the Houthis after the group announced plans to resume attacks on Israeli vessels in the Red Sea, citing Israel’s blockade of humanitarian aid to Gaza as the reason.

Earlier on April 17, Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had said his group had launched 26 attacks against Israel and 33 strikes on the US aircraft carrier and warships in the Red Sea since March 15.

In a televised speech aired by the group’s al-Masirah TV on Thursday, the Houthi leader said the attacks on Israel were carried out using “30 ballistic missiles and drones,” while those targeting the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and its escorts involved “122 ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones”.

However, the Israeli military has reportedly intercepted many of the Houthi projectiles before they reached targets, Xinhua news agency reported.

The US Central Command dismissed the Houthi claims of daily attacks on the US aircraft carrier as “outlandish” in a post on the social media platform X.

Meanwhile, the Houthi leader noted that the US military had conducted more than 900 airstrikes against his group’s positions across northern Yemen during the past 30 days.

Tensions between the Houthi group and the US military have escalated since Washington resumed airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen on March 15 to deter the group from attacking Israel and US warships in the Red Sea.

The Houthis, which control much of northern Yemen, said their attacks aim to press US-backed Israel to stop the offensive against the Gaza Strip and allow humanitarian aid into the Palestinian enclave.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported last Saturday that a Yemeni drone was intercepted near the Dead Sea within the Jordanian airspace before it could reach Israel.

The Jordanian army confirmed later last week that an unidentified drone entered Jordanian airspace and crashed in the Ma’in area of Madaba governorate, near the Dead Sea, and no casualties were reported.

Even since Israel renewed its intensive strikes in March across the Gaza Strip, the Houthis have been launching frequent attacks against Israeli and US targets.

Earlier last week, the Houthi military spokesperson claimed fresh attacks against the US aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, and other US warships in the northern Red Sea.

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